The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(11-16-2023 04:29 PM)AlphaFlash Wrote:  Also, anyone else concerned that MAC coaches can now be picked off as assistant coaches at a P5 school? Not even a P5 HC position.

No. Assistants at P5s have come to the MAC on pay cuts to get Head Coach on their resumes before going onward and upward in their careers.

(11-16-2023 08:30 PM)cleveland Wrote:  

(11-16-2023 07:25 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-16-2023 04:29 PM)AlphaFlash Wrote:  I'll give him a little props for his offense, but he's not the genius everyone seems to think he is. Dustin Crumm made him look like the genius. The plays from the sidelines had me scratching my had some. Last year was obvious enough. now, if he gets a spot where he can get a non-stop inflow of RPO quartbacks, then sure. But those guys don't just walk in the front door.

Also, anyone else concerned that MAC coaches can now be picked off as assistant coaches at a P5 school? Not even a P5 HC position.

I get what you're saying, but I think it's unfair to Lewis to not give him any credit for the evolution of Crum. The fact is he took over a team with a QB that literally no one else wanted, and by the time he left he was arguably the best QB in school history, and on an NFL training camp roster. In Schlee he got a QB that had 4 offers, Kent probably the best offer on that list, and he left as a guy that UCLA wanted. Then Ulatowski came here as a walk-on and now looks like a pretty capable MAC QB.

If you believe Lewis had no part in building them up then you at least have to admit he has an eye for talent. Obviously he didn't bring Crum here, but he should get credit for giving him a fair shot. I have to believe Cribbs or Edelman would've been much more prolific on a Lewis team.

A little revisionist history with a mix of rose colored glasses, I think. Lewis was not a Crum fan, even in high school, and made it clear Crum could leave Kent early in his tenure.

Crum decided to stay more than Lewis decided to keep him.

https://www.morningjournal.com/2021/08/2...-main-man/

Yeah fully aware of that. I think Lewis often made a comment something to the effect of, "I'm the only idiot that passed on him twice". I don't think it's in any way revisionist history to give Lewis credit for giving a kid he did not believe in a chance to change his mind. In my opinion one of the most important qualities all good leaders share is the ability to let people convince them they were wrong. Rather than stubbornly sticking to a decision because you can't admit when you're wrong. Most coaches probably would've either run Crum off or buried him on the depth chart and forgot about him. He literally ran a QB competition through camp his first year despite, at that point, not believing in Crum at all. Then over the next 12 months he was at least open to letting Crum change his mind. If he let Barrett start for the next 3 years and never gave Crum a chance I don't think anyone would've questioned it, unless Crum caught on somewhere else and took off. The easy thing to do would've been sticking with Barrett. The hard thing to do was replace the mega recruit/incumbent starter with the unheralded guy.

Also, I remember Barrett making a comment in year one that Lewis was showing him things with his throwing mechanics that no one has ever taught him. That's saying a lot from a kid that was at Auburn. I think it would be absurd to not at least entertain the idea that Lewis also helped make Crum better. IMO it's revisionist history to act like Lewis was purely the beneficiary of Crum and that Crum didn't benefit in any way from Lewis.

(11-16-2023 08:53 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-16-2023 08:30 PM)cleveland Wrote:  

(11-16-2023 07:25 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-16-2023 04:29 PM)AlphaFlash Wrote:  I'll give him a little props for his offense, but he's not the genius everyone seems to think he is. Dustin Crumm made him look like the genius. The plays from the sidelines had me scratching my had some. Last year was obvious enough. now, if he gets a spot where he can get a non-stop inflow of RPO quartbacks, then sure. But those guys don't just walk in the front door.

Also, anyone else concerned that MAC coaches can now be picked off as assistant coaches at a P5 school? Not even a P5 HC position.

I get what you're saying, but I think it's unfair to Lewis to not give him any credit for the evolution of Crum. The fact is he took over a team with a QB that literally no one else wanted, and by the time he left he was arguably the best QB in school history, and on an NFL training camp roster. In Schlee he got a QB that had 4 offers, Kent probably the best offer on that list, and he left as a guy that UCLA wanted. Then Ulatowski came here as a walk-on and now looks like a pretty capable MAC QB.

If you believe Lewis had no part in building them up then you at least have to admit he has an eye for talent. Obviously he didn't bring Crum here, but he should get credit for giving him a fair shot. I have to believe Cribbs or Edelman would've been much more prolific on a Lewis team.

A little revisionist history with a mix of rose colored glasses, I think. Lewis was not a Crum fan, even in high school, and made it clear Crum could leave Kent early in his tenure.

Crum decided to stay more than Lewis decided to keep him.

https://www.morningjournal.com/2021/08/2...-main-man/

Yeah fully aware of that. I think Lewis often made a comment something to the effect of, "I'm the only idiot that passed on him twice". I don't think it's in any way revisionist history to give Lewis credit for giving a kid he did not believe in a chance to change his mind. In my opinion one of the most important qualities all good leaders share is the ability to let people convince them they were wrong. Rather than stubbornly sticking to a decision because you can't admit when you're wrong. Most coaches probably would've either run Crum off or buried him on the depth chart and forgot about him. He literally ran a QB competition through camp his first year despite, at that point, not believing in Crum at all. Then over the next 12 months he was at least open to letting Crum change his mind. If he let Barrett start for the next 3 years and never gave Crum a chance I don't think anyone would've questioned it, unless Crum caught on somewhere else and took off. The easy thing to do would've been sticking with Barrett. The hard thing to do was replace the mega recruit/incumbent starter with the unheralded guy.

Also, I remember Barrett making a comment in year one that Lewis was showing him things with his throwing mechanics that no one has ever taught him. That's saying a lot from a kid that was at Auburn. I think it would be absurd to not at least entertain the idea that Lewis also helped make Crum better. IMO it's revisionist history to act like Lewis was purely the beneficiary of Crum and that Crum didn't benefit in any way from Lewis.

I think it would be absurd to not at least entertain the idea that Lewis also helped make Crum better. IMO it's revisionist history to act like Lewis was purely the beneficiary of Crum and that Crum didn't benefit in any way from Lewis.


I think, in the end, this is exactly what happened. But wanted to be clear, in the beginning, Lewis had little appreciation for the player he inherited, or at the very least, little belief that he (Lewis) could 'coach him up.'

Let's chalk that up to being a first-year head coach, and be glad both found a mutual path to KSU success.

(11-15-2023 02:10 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-15-2023 02:02 PM)fallsdog Wrote:  

(11-14-2023 09:30 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  It'll be fascinating to see what happens with Lewis in the off season. How do you keep an OC that you took play calling duties away from? That seems like a terrible OC/HC relationship. But if you're Colorado how do you justify firing an OC that has two years 1.8 million left on his contract. Not a HC... an OC. Probably the best solution for all parties would be he gets hired away which I'm sure there will be schools interested since he's got a pretty good reputation as an up an comer.

Perhaps he returns to Kent State....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT1Tl6npLic

Same vibe... Can we get Joshua Dobbs back too?

I know Joshua Dobbs is hero of the month but remember he was something like 1-6 in Arizona and talk radio out there couldn’t wait until he was gone. He was pretty bad.

(11-16-2023 09:38 PM)cleveland Wrote:  

(11-16-2023 08:53 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-16-2023 08:30 PM)cleveland Wrote:  

(11-16-2023 07:25 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-16-2023 04:29 PM)AlphaFlash Wrote:  I'll give him a little props for his offense, but he's not the genius everyone seems to think he is. Dustin Crumm made him look like the genius. The plays from the sidelines had me scratching my had some. Last year was obvious enough. now, if he gets a spot where he can get a non-stop inflow of RPO quartbacks, then sure. But those guys don't just walk in the front door.

Also, anyone else concerned that MAC coaches can now be picked off as assistant coaches at a P5 school? Not even a P5 HC position.

I get what you're saying, but I think it's unfair to Lewis to not give him any credit for the evolution of Crum. The fact is he took over a team with a QB that literally no one else wanted, and by the time he left he was arguably the best QB in school history, and on an NFL training camp roster. In Schlee he got a QB that had 4 offers, Kent probably the best offer on that list, and he left as a guy that UCLA wanted. Then Ulatowski came here as a walk-on and now looks like a pretty capable MAC QB.

If you believe Lewis had no part in building them up then you at least have to admit he has an eye for talent. Obviously he didn't bring Crum here, but he should get credit for giving him a fair shot. I have to believe Cribbs or Edelman would've been much more prolific on a Lewis team.

A little revisionist history with a mix of rose colored glasses, I think. Lewis was not a Crum fan, even in high school, and made it clear Crum could leave Kent early in his tenure.

Crum decided to stay more than Lewis decided to keep him.

https://www.morningjournal.com/2021/08/2...-main-man/

Yeah fully aware of that. I think Lewis often made a comment something to the effect of, "I'm the only idiot that passed on him twice". I don't think it's in any way revisionist history to give Lewis credit for giving a kid he did not believe in a chance to change his mind. In my opinion one of the most important qualities all good leaders share is the ability to let people convince them they were wrong. Rather than stubbornly sticking to a decision because you can't admit when you're wrong. Most coaches probably would've either run Crum off or buried him on the depth chart and forgot about him. He literally ran a QB competition through camp his first year despite, at that point, not believing in Crum at all. Then over the next 12 months he was at least open to letting Crum change his mind. If he let Barrett start for the next 3 years and never gave Crum a chance I don't think anyone would've questioned it, unless Crum caught on somewhere else and took off. The easy thing to do would've been sticking with Barrett. The hard thing to do was replace the mega recruit/incumbent starter with the unheralded guy.

Also, I remember Barrett making a comment in year one that Lewis was showing him things with his throwing mechanics that no one has ever taught him. That's saying a lot from a kid that was at Auburn. I think it would be absurd to not at least entertain the idea that Lewis also helped make Crum better. IMO it's revisionist history to act like Lewis was purely the beneficiary of Crum and that Crum didn't benefit in any way from Lewis.

I think it would be absurd to not at least entertain the idea that Lewis also helped make Crum better. IMO it's revisionist history to act like Lewis was purely the beneficiary of Crum and that Crum didn't benefit in any way from Lewis.


I think, in the end, this is exactly what happened. But wanted to be clear, in the beginning, Lewis had little appreciation for the player he inherited, or at the very least, little belief that he (Lewis) could 'coach him up.'

Let's chalk that up to being a first-year head coach, and be glad both found a mutual path to KSU success.

That may be true, but I still don't see Lewis as a successful head coach at a top program. He'll do fine making a cool 6-figures in an assistant somewhere for several years.
Still though, I don't want to see him on a sideline across from us in the MAC.

Sean Lewis seems to be a pretty darn good offensive mind. Although I have a limited understanding of the forward pass unless it involves a guy wearing #44 coming open in the flat, I think that the market for Coach Lewis will be around for decades to come.

I do not think it’s out of realm of possibility for him to be calling a power 5 offense soon and very soon.

(11-17-2023 06:43 AM)burden Wrote:  

(11-15-2023 02:10 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-15-2023 02:02 PM)fallsdog Wrote:  

(11-14-2023 09:30 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  It'll be fascinating to see what happens with Lewis in the off season. How do you keep an OC that you took play calling duties away from? That seems like a terrible OC/HC relationship. But if you're Colorado how do you justify firing an OC that has two years 1.8 million left on his contract. Not a HC... an OC. Probably the best solution for all parties would be he gets hired away which I'm sure there will be schools interested since he's got a pretty good reputation as an up an comer.

Perhaps he returns to Kent State....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT1Tl6npLic

Same vibe... Can we get Joshua Dobbs back too?

I know Joshua Dobbs is hero of the month but remember he was something like 1-6 in Arizona and talk radio out there couldn’t wait until he was gone. He was pretty bad.

Meh. I was wanting him back at the trade deadline too. Browns don't need a Superstar QB to be a contender. They just need to not have the worst QB play in the league. Currently we have the lowest passer rating as a team in the NFL by a lot. Dobbs being just an average QB would be a huge upgrade. Even in his time in Arizona he had a much higher passer rating (81.2) than the Browns as a team (66.9). What he's done in Minnesota has just made it more obvious that we were dumb to trade him and dumb to not trade back for him. But it was true before it was obvious. Hope DTR works out. Like him and think he's got potential. But man they aren't doing the kid any favors with the first two defenses they're throwing him out against.

(11-18-2023 01:03 AM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-17-2023 06:43 AM)burden Wrote:  

(11-15-2023 02:10 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-15-2023 02:02 PM)fallsdog Wrote:  

(11-14-2023 09:30 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  It'll be fascinating to see what happens with Lewis in the off season. How do you keep an OC that you took play calling duties away from? That seems like a terrible OC/HC relationship. But if you're Colorado how do you justify firing an OC that has two years 1.8 million left on his contract. Not a HC... an OC. Probably the best solution for all parties would be he gets hired away which I'm sure there will be schools interested since he's got a pretty good reputation as an up an comer.

Perhaps he returns to Kent State....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT1Tl6npLic

Same vibe... Can we get Joshua Dobbs back too?

I know Joshua Dobbs is hero of the month but remember he was something like 1-6 in Arizona and talk radio out there couldn’t wait until he was gone. He was pretty bad.

Meh. I was wanting him back at the trade deadline too. Browns don't need a Superstar QB to be a contender. They just need to not have the worst QB play in the league. Currently we have the lowest passer rating as a team in the NFL by a lot. Dobbs being just an average QB would be a huge upgrade. Even in his time in Arizona he had a much higher passer rating (81.2) than the Browns as a team (66.9). What he's done in Minnesota has just made it more obvious that we were dumb to trade him and dumb to not trade back for him. But it was true before it was obvious. Hope DTR works out. Like him and think he's got potential. But man they aren't doing the kid any favors with the first two defenses they're throwing him out against.

Don’t totally disagree just pointing out that Dobbs isn’t the QB he has been the last two weeks. A lot of the 81 rating is because Watson has been so so..Another example of Haslemor whoever shooting from the hip and missing.

It wasn't all that long ago that the football situation at Kent State looked relatively good. Now they are down to Ball State by 31 points, and nobody had even started a topic on the game. How easy it is for Kent State football to regress back to the bottom. It has happened many times in my decades. Sad.

(11-18-2023 05:03 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  It wasn't all that long ago that the football situation at Kent State looked relatively good. Now they are down to Ball State by 31 points, and nobody had even started a topic on the game. How easy it is for Kent State football to regress back to the bottom. It has happened many times in my decades. Sad.

Well, my Mom taught me, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

#GoFlashes

(11-18-2023 05:18 PM)Albert Flasher Wrote:  

(11-18-2023 05:03 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  It wasn't all that long ago that the football situation at Kent State looked relatively good. Now they are down to Ball State by 31 points, and nobody had even started a topic on the game. How easy it is for Kent State football to regress back to the bottom. It has happened many times in my decades. Sad.

Well, my Mom taught me, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

#GoFlashes

Yeah mine too, but I don't listen. Just watched the game. Why did I do that to myself. This team is a mess. I swear we had more offensive yards called back on penalties than we had actually offensive yards today. The one long TD pass as soon as it happens you just immediately wait for the penalty flag. They keep making a big deal about the "11 new starters on offense" thing... well with how this offense looks, 11 new starters next year doesn't sound too bad. I don't care how young the O Line is. They don't look like they belong on the field at this level.

PS. McCray is excused from all my comments. He is incredible. I wish he wasn't hurt. He was the only reason to watch our offense.

Geez the Washington St game looks like a total mess. With how they've done since Lewis was replaced as okay caller, I wonder if will actually end up looking good on his resume.

(11-18-2023 10:41 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-18-2023 05:18 PM)Albert Flasher Wrote:  

(11-18-2023 05:03 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  It wasn't all that long ago that the football situation at Kent State looked relatively good. Now they are down to Ball State by 31 points, and nobody had even started a topic on the game. How easy it is for Kent State football to regress back to the bottom. It has happened many times in my decades. Sad.

Well, my Mom taught me, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

#GoFlashes

Yeah mine too, but I don't listen. Just watched the game. Why did I do that to myself. This team is a mess. I swear we had more offensive yards called back on penalties than we had actually offensive yards today. The one long TD pass as soon as it happens you just immediately wait for the penalty flag. They keep making a big deal about the "11 new starters on offense" thing... well with how this offense looks, 11 new starters next year doesn't sound too bad. I don't care how young the O Line is. They don't look like they belong on the field at this level.

PS. McCray is excused from all my comments. He is incredible. I wish he wasn't hurt. He was the only reason to watch our offense.

Yes, they are a mess. What strikes me is that they've seemed to regress over the course of the season. More likely, though, they've stayed the same while most teams improved. A friend of mine used to say that it's NOT a good thing to have lots of returning players from a bad team. I really don't know what they can do other than recruit well from the high schools and the transfer portal, but that's easier said than done when you are the worst team in the league (not that Akron is much better). Plus, now they have to worry about their better players entering the portal! Changing coaches is out of the question for financial reasons. It's really a sad situation, indeed.

(11-19-2023 11:15 AM)Muskrat Wrote:  

(11-18-2023 10:41 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(11-18-2023 05:18 PM)Albert Flasher Wrote:  

(11-18-2023 05:03 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  It wasn't all that long ago that the football situation at Kent State looked relatively good. Now they are down to Ball State by 31 points, and nobody had even started a topic on the game. How easy it is for Kent State football to regress back to the bottom. It has happened many times in my decades. Sad.

Well, my Mom taught me, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

#GoFlashes

Yeah mine too, but I don't listen. Just watched the game. Why did I do that to myself. This team is a mess. I swear we had more offensive yards called back on penalties than we had actually offensive yards today. The one long TD pass as soon as it happens you just immediately wait for the penalty flag. They keep making a big deal about the "11 new starters on offense" thing... well with how this offense looks, 11 new starters next year doesn't sound too bad. I don't care how young the O Line is. They don't look like they belong on the field at this level.

PS. McCray is excused from all my comments. He is incredible. I wish he wasn't hurt. He was the only reason to watch our offense.

Yes, they are a mess. What strikes me is that they've seemed to regress over the course of the season. More likely, though, they've stayed the same while most teams improved. A friend of mine used to say that it's NOT a good thing to have lots of returning players from a bad team. I really don't know what they can do other than recruit well from the high schools and the transfer portal, but that's easier said than done when you are the worst team in the league (not that Akron is much better). Plus, now they have to worry about their better players entering the portal! Changing coaches is out of the question for financial reasons. It's really a sad situation, indeed.

I just don’t see ‘Cuse replacing Dino with his protege, but to anyone that thinks Lewis will be forgotten are wrong.

(11-19-2023 07:37 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  I just don’t see ‘Cuse replacing Dino with his protege, but to anyone that thinks Lewis will be forgotten are wrong.

Syracuse plays much of its football vs. teams from the South. Look for the AD to find a head coach from below the Mason-Dixon, if he wants to be successful.

(11-20-2023 07:05 AM)cleveland Wrote:  

(11-19-2023 07:37 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  I just don’t see ‘Cuse replacing Dino with his protege, but to anyone that thinks Lewis will be forgotten are wrong.

Syracuse plays much of its football vs. teams from the South. Look for the AD to find a head coach from below the Mason-Dixon, if he wants to be successful.

Agree Lewis stylewise too close to Dino - probably need a defense oriented coach to compete.
Dominos will start falling here, Pittsburgh likely to fire their coach.

NCAA denies transfer Ali Ali eligibility to play with Akron. Not good news for the school down the road.

#GoFlashes

I wish Freeman was declared ineligible too.

Interesting. I was thinking a second transfer was allowed if you were a grad student. He's in his 5th year. Maybe I'm not remembering the rules right? Or maybe the fact he transferred meant he was going to need a 5th year to graduate because some credits didn't transfer.